This week, Victoria & Abdul sees the return of Dame Judi Dench in a role she made her own in Oscar-winning fashion in 1997’s Mrs Brown – that of Queen Victoria, probably the most renowned and celebrated female monarch in the history of the British Empire. So renowned, in fact, she has been played no less than 38 times across cinema since Rose Tapley first played her in the 1912 short silent film, The Victoria Cross.
Set The Tape thought we’d take the return of Dench and Victoria to our screens as an opportunity to pick out some of the more memorable takes on the Queen who defined an entire age of history.
ANNA NEAGLE in VICTORIA THE GREAT (1937)
Another celebrated British Dame and one of the earliest well-known actresses in British film, Anna Neagle played a young, eighteen year Victoria, in a film timed to commemorate a century since the beginning of Victoria’s reign in 1837 (she died in 1901 after spending almost 64 years on the throne, a record only surpassed now by Queen Elizabeth II). Released the year of her great-grandson King George VI’s coronation, it concentrates on the early years of her reign and her marriage to Prince Albert, then moves forward to focusing on ruling after Albert’s death in 1861.
Neagle went down so well in the role she returned, a year later, in a sequel, Sixty Glorious Years, though it wasn’t nearly as well received.
PAMELA BROWN in ALICE IN WONDERLAND (1949)
An unusual one, this. Pamela Brown portrayed the film in Alice au pays des merveilles, a French adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s legendary novel Alice in Wonderland, a film which blended live action and stop-motion animated puppets used to portray sequences in Wonderland. Brown played Victoria in live-action scenes but also voices the evil Queen of Hearts in the animated sequences, though this creative choice led to the film being banned in the UK as the representation of the Queen of Hearts was seen as too close to that of Victoria herself. It also caused some controversy given Disney were developing their own animated version of Carroll’s story at the same time and sued to prevent an English-language version in US cinemas, successfully.
Eventually released in the US in 1951, it subsequently flopped and both the film and Brown’s portrayal have remained little seen since.
PETER SELLERS in THE GREAT MCGONAGALL (1974)
An even more unusual one as, you guessed it, Peter Sellers isn’t exactly the right sex to portray Victoria. Nonetheless, in one of his less well-known pictures, Sellers portrayed the Queen in this humorous biopic of the Scottish poet William McGonagall, with Spike Milligan in the titular role. It pastiches the real-life event of the attempted assassination of Victoria by Roderick McLean, apparently motivated ironically by a curt reply to poetry he sent earlier to the Queen. Reputedly Sellers had so much fun playing Victoria he insisted on portraying the role on his knees, wearing roller-skates.
In what seems to be a trend for the more offbeat films featuring Victoria, The Great McGonagall was a flop, the latest in a string of flops for Sellers. It seems playing the Queen could be a blessing and a curse!
EMILY BLUNT in THE YOUNG VICTORIA (2009)
Arguably the first major motion picture in many years to give a strong, modern portrayal of Queen Victoria, rising star Emily Blunt tackled the role of the young Queen in Jean-Marc Vallee’s picture based on a script from Downton Abbey’s Julian Fellowes. Backed by a strong supporting cast of well-known British thespians, it was one of the films which put Blunt on the map as a major British female talent, and Fellowes made an effort to seek historical accuracy in portraying the young life of Victoria and her marriage to Albert, played here by Rupert Friend.
It was nonetheless criticised for inaccuracy in the details upon release, though it was relatively well-received by critics and Blunt’s performance in particular was praised.
IMELDA STAUNTON in THE PIRATES! IN AN ADVENTURE WITH SCIENTISTS (2012)
One of the most enjoyable animated British films in recent years, Queen Victoria appears somewhat differently in The Pirates! An Adventure With Scientists, not just for the fact she’s voiced by Imelda Staunton (Dolores Umbridge herself!) as an animated character, but equally given she’s pitched as the evil super villain at the heart of Gideon Defoe’s book-series adaptation. She provides royal foil for the Pirate Captain and his amateur pirate crew as they undertake a massive adventure in order to win the Pirate of the Year competition.
Ironically for a film in which Victoria isn’t the centre point, and isn’t even a live-action character, it’s among the most successful pictures featuring the Queen, achieving positive reviews and even a 2013 Academy Award nomination. It’s also damn good fun along the way!
What are your favourite films featuring Queen Victoria? Have we missed any? Let us know in comments or on social media.